Really Surprised!

Good start, but then it gets ruined

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

It has been decades since I watched one of the old Sherlock Holmes flicks starring Basil Rathbone, but when you're home sick for several days, you'll watch almost anything.For the first two-thirds of the film I was surprised at how good it was. A nifty little mystery with some clever touches. But the last third of the film seemed to be grasping at plot twists to come to a conclusion that only Holmes could have known. So, plot-wise, what started out as a strong "7" deteriorated to a weak "6". Ultimately, you get what you pay for, and these were done on the cheap; nevertheless, this outing is better than I remember the series beingOf course we all know the characters of Holmes and Dr. Watson, and they did well in this series. I particularly get a kick out of Nigel Bruce. The rest of the actors in this film are pretty forgettable, although any fan of old flicks will recognize Alan Mowbray. The film, as shown on cable, is quite deteriorated. But, it's still very watchable. So if you're home sick for a few days and this flick comes along on cable...you could do worse.

Following on from the success of his cruise-liner thriller PURSUIT TO ALGIERS, genre director Roy William Neill relocates elements of a Conan Doyle story to a train and the result is another solid and dependable adventure yarn for Rathbone and Bruce. Reaching the end of their long tenure as the super-sleuth and his unlikely assistant, Rathbone and Bruce still manage to put in endearing performances despite the familiarity of the situations and the clichés by now appearing in the tale.This conventional film takes the form of a murder mystery and presents the audience with a number of likely suspects, half of whom turn out to be red herrings whilst the other half are a sinister and murderous bunch. The film is pretty entertaining as it makes out everyone on board the train has a sinister side. Even Watson himself comes under suspicion at one point. Detective fans will not be stretched by the material as the culprit is easy to guess from the beginning – this coming from somebody who usually misses all the clues as it is.Although the film is low on action and spectacle it still manages to grip the audience thanks to a fast pacing and lots of intrigue set on board the train. There are some exciting moments to break up the dialogue, including Holmes hanging on the outside of a train for dear life and the climatic free-for-all which is rather amusing. There are the usual genre trappings which are great, including an air gun that shoots poisoned darts, an occupied coffin with a secret compartment in it, evil policemen, a replica jewel and plenty more. Skelton Knaggs is the epitome of twisted evil as the sadistic killer. There are even a couple of mild surprises and twists along the way.The characters and their interaction is what makes this film work. This is a dialogue heavy movie with plenty of comedy so that it never becomes boring. Rathbone is excellent as Holmes but his character is rather subdued and introspective here. To be honest he doesn't get much to do, as there are many other characters taking centre stage at numerous intervals. Bruce is once more the dumb, alcoholic comic relief. We have Dennis Hoey shining in his largest performance as Inspector Lestrade. Hoey is actually the leading investigator for a lot of this film which makes up for all his supporting roles in the previous entries in the series. Hoey is on top form and a delight to watch as he reads his lines uniquely. The rest of the cast is more than adequate and the actors frequently shine. This is an atmospheric and highly interesting, not to mention worthy, addition to the Holmes canon.

Suspicious strangers on a train during a great train robbery; and, while it is not a lady who vanishes, there is murder on the Edinburgh express. Sherlock Holmes is hired to accompany Lady Margaret Carstairs and her son, Roland, on a northward journey from London to Edinburgh; her ladyship owns the Star of Rhodesia, an enormous diamond, that is greedily lusted after by countless criminals, and Holmes is responsible for the gem's security. The jewel is well protected, because not only Holmes and his dear friend, Doctor Watson, are aboard, but also the undependable Inspector Lestrade, who has thinly veiled his involvement as a fishing trip to Scotland. Other passengers of interest in the same rail car with the diamond include Alan Mowbray as Major Duncan-Bleek, an old acquaintance of Watson; Renee Godfrey as Vivian Vedder, a cool dark-haired beauty, who is accompanying her mother's body to Scotland for burial; and Frederick Worlock as Professor William Kilbane, the cantankerous object of Watson's attempts at police investigation. However, the myriad suspicious characters extend beyond those few to a married couple who are obviously concealing a secret, a laconic baggage car attendant, the conductor, and the dining car steward; if they are aboard, they are a suspect.The eleventh in Universal Studios's Sherlock Holmes series, "Terror by Night" was directed by dependable Roy William Neill from an original story written by Frank Gruber using snippets from a few Arthur Conan Doyle stories. Similar to an Agatha Christie mystery, the action largely takes place aboard a speeding train, which appears to limit the number of suspects. Holmes has a close brush with death, meets an old nemesis, and plays sleight of hand during the film's tight one-hour running time. Nigel Bruce also has opportunity to shine, and the well meaning, but bumbling doctor, spars during the interrogation of an unwilling suspect and does some independent examination of the clues with his old school chum. Although lensed by Maury Gertsman, a Universal contract cinematographer of B films, the picture utilizes grainy stock footage of locomotives and unconvincing shots of model trains; however, Gertsman's images inside the train are crisp, sometimes atmospheric, black and white."Terror by Night" is a solid entry in the Holmes series, although sharp viewers will decode the mystery early on. Nevertheless, the fun is watching Holmes ponder the clues, Watson bluster through his sleuthing attempts, and Lestrade claim Holmes's hints as his own. Considering how late in the series this installment appeared, "Terror by Night" is an intriguing who-dunnit, who took it, and who's got it.

Penultimate Rathbone Holmes film sees Sherlock and Watson on a train trying to prevent the theft of a priceless diamond and figure out who murdered the son of the diamond's owner. I love train movies so perhaps that's why this one's always been a sentimental favorite of mine. Last of the series to feature Dennis Hoey's Inspector Lastrade. Lots of colorful characters as red herrings. Who the culprit turns out to be is rather obvious but there's an added twist that makes it pretty cool for fans of the series. Renee Godfrey is nice on the eyes but uses one of the worst British accents I've ever heard. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are excellent, as always. Bruce is especially fun in his interrogations. A little more comedy than usual in this one but it works well. A very entertaining movie.